National Lamppon’s Vaca…,er, RV?

Before we start click and watch the trailer for this film. Go ahead, I’ll wait….hmm…hmm…hmm…

Oh, you’re back? Okay answer me this – Did you think that trailer was really funny or kinda’ lame? Your answer to that question will tell you whether to go see the film as it’s just 98 minutes of the same dumb dad, hip-hop white son, bitchy teenage daughter, redneck RV campers, shit jokes, and yodelling. Yeah…I’d pass too. It’s not that it’s horrible, but seriously why waste an hour and a half of your life on something this dumb and pointless?

Disconnected from his family and in trouble at work Bob Munro (Robin Williams) decides to gather his family, his teenage daughter Cassie (JoJo) and son Carl (Josh Hutcherson) and wife Jamie (Cheryl Hines), together and take an family vacation to Colorado (while secretly working on his proposal). Since his family was set on a trip to Hawaii they aren’t too happy with the change in plans.

Of course in this kind of trip all kinds of badluck befalls Bob including being stuck on the front of the RV as it tumbles out of control, the explosion of the waste management system, attack of a pack of rabid raccoons, and a extra-cheery RV family (Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Hunter Parrish, Alex Ferris, and Chloe Sonnenfeld) who even sing and yodel and I’m pretty sure you have to shoot and bury in the desert in unmarked graves to get rid of.

There are only two reasons to see the film. The first is Robin Williams, though he really is miscast in this Chevy Chase role and except for a couple obviously improvised scenes he’s stuck doing mostly physical humor. The only other reason to see the film is if you like really dumb comedies. And I mean really dumb comedies.

The entire subplot about Bob hiding his work from his family is hard to follow since it’s completely improbable and totally unnecessary to the plot. Much like The Sentinel this movie fails the “One Dumb Move Rule” where all William’s need to do is tell the truth since there is absolutely no reason for him to lie to begin with as telling the truth would explain the need for the trip and garner sympathy from his family. But of course if he does that the film would have to try harder because it couldn’t rely on the family slowly reconnecting and then learning the truth and turning on him, or the obligatory later scene where he apologizes and all is forgiven.

And of course the Gornicke family is ridiculed and mocked but by the end the Munro’s have found respect for the “good folks” of the RV park. And before the end Bob will learn that his family is more important than his work. And during that time the director will completely waste the talents of two members of Arrested Development (I won’t tell you which two, this movie has already done enough damage to their careers) in mindless and pointless roles.

A PG-rated National Lampoon’s Vacation? Yeah that doesn’t work. Of couse it’s twenty years too late and wasn’t direct by Harold Ramis or written by John Hughes. Instead of watching this go rent Vacation or if you want to see a comparable (mmm, no slightly better) Robin Willams film for less money go rent Club Paradise because there is nothing here you’ll miss. There’s not much I can say that’s positive about this film, so let me end with this: even with all it’s problems it’s still better than Captain Ron. Yeah, I know that’s not much, but at least it’s something right?